Turning Into a Pumpkin

It is late and I am about ready to turn into a pumpkin, but after reading about Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle over at Jeanne Eats World (Go ahead. Click over there. Did you see it? Don't those layers sound absolutely delicious?), I can't get my own Pumpkin Gingerbread with Warm Caramel Sauce out of my mind. I came to the blog to refresh my memory of the ingredients and discovered that I HADN'T POSTED THE RECIPE. Sacrilege. It is too good not to share.

This, just like Cranberry Dessert Cake with Warm Butter Sauce, was snagged from one of those little Pillsbury cookbooks sold at the checkout stands of the grocery store. I think it might have even been the cover photo. (Theirs was perfectly topped with a scoop of ice cream because, unlike me, they used special "food photo techniques" to keep it from sliding off.) The photo and recipe were oh so tempting, and I just couldn't resist. Pumpkin Gingerbread with Warm Caramel Sauce quickly became one of my fall and winter staples. It is truly old-fashioned, comfort-food dessert at its finest.

Pumpkin Gingerbread

2 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup butter

3/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cloves

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 egg

Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine flour and sugar.
Mix in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles fine crumbs.
In a 9-inch square baking pan, place 1 3/4 cups of the mixture and press evenly along the bottom to form a crust.
Add pecans, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and cloves to crumb mixture and stir well.
Add buttermilk, molasses, pumpkin, and egg.
Pour batter on top of the crust in the baking pan.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Warm Caramel Sauce

1/2 cup butter

1 1/4 cups light brown sugar

2 tablespoons corn syrup

1/2 cup heavy cream

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan.
Stir in brown sugar and corn syrup.
Stirring constantly, bring mixture to a boil, and cook for 1 minute or until sugar dissolves.
Gradually add cream and return to a boil.
Remove from heat.

To serve, top each serving with scoop of vanilla ice cream and spoon sauce over warm gingerbread. (Serves 9-12)